Getting to the Point

The top of a pyramid is what makes it identifiable as a pyramid. This apex is known as the capstone. On ancient pyramids, capstones were given special care and sometimes made of gold. Kings had their names etched in them. Pyramids are architectural marvels. While many mysteries and legends abound, experts agree that the building of the pyramids took hundreds of workers hundreds of years to complete.

While pyramids served many purposes (some were quite elaborate on the inside with bakeries, tombs and hallways aplenty) the outward symbol of success was to get to the point, the capstone. Once the builders completed the point of the pyramid, it was complete. Any shortcuts would certainly be noticed and mar the elegance of these ancient structures. If the work crews had rushed to get to the point, it is unlikely that these landmarks would still be standing. 

My 15-year-old daughter has her driver’s permit. She is attentive and cautious, but sometimes being in the car with a learning driver is a bit harrowing. She is slowly becoming more comfortable and confident but still needs guidance at times and frequent feedback for assurance. She will have her license soon, but, for now, this learners’ permit experience serves a great transition from being an unlicensed driver who still needs Dad to play taxi driver to a licensed driver who believes she needs nothing from no one.

Learning the necessary skills to earn that freedom is not without stress for driver and passenger, but imagining what the roads would be like without such a transition period is certainly far more frightening.

Transition Clients Back into the Community

Thoughtful planning, basic skills training and the freedom to make some mistakes are vital aspects of a good transition for community corrections offenders too. In fact, it can be argued that the lack of such a process is largely to blame for our unacceptably high recidivism rate.

Data Matters in Community Corrections! 

The second decade of this young millennium is proving to be a major turning point for community corrections agencies and practitioners.

Software is changing the way we practice community corrections and we are making progress daily in our efforts to make our data systems more functional, practically and clinically. (See Is Software the Key to EBP –Part I to see how.)

Practically, it is now possible to have a fully paperless and EBP-influenced information system that has the ability to integrate facility security functions with overall case management, treatment, programming, accountability, supervision, and outcome measures.

Clinically, treatment providers and researchers are working together in unique ways to actually implement EBP rather than just talk about it.

Technologically, advances in software performance and flexibility have resulted in the ability to quickly integrate new practical and clinical innovations into community corrections information systems.

The EBP and “what works” movements were born out of data at a time when few community corrections programs had sophisticated information systems. The research data gathering was painstaking and resulted in limited visibility. For EBP to fulfill its promise to impact the lives of both the practitioner and the client, it is time for integrated and intelligent systems to provide the next generation of “EBP Data” that comes to us daily, weekly and monthly from our own IT systems.

The Foundational Roles of Technology in Agency EBP Work

For evidence based practices to come alive, we must measure everything… and not using our fingers and toes!

It All Started with Looking For A Better Way…

Ten years ago, there was little reason to focus on the software features needed to design an EBP software system. Early in the EBP movement, agencies’ pursuit of EBP was tied to “validated risk assessments” and new case management disciplines as characterized in Motivational Interviewing.[i] In other words, there was little impact on legacy case management systems. In fact, new automation was centered on the emerging risk assessment tools. 

Today, with rising expectations from funding agencies, courts, and our community stakeholders to show progress in EBP, measure outcomes, and determine what works with our own client populations, the rules have changed. There is fresh impetus and opportunity to reconsider what it means to have a modern-day case management system for the residential and non-residential community corrections field. After all, legislators and community stakeholders have been convinced of the merits of the science and strategy behind investing in offender rehabilitation instead of incarceration. The challenge for the coming decade is to show real results and make meaningful efforts to learn about outcomes, apply new knowledge, and create a system of people, processes and data that brings the promise of EBP to life.